The barrier between Italy and Austria becomes reality. Vienna prepares to seal the border. A 370-metre wire fence, 250 policemen stationed at the Brenner pass who will be assisted by soldiers sent in case of need.
The head of the Tyrolean police Helmut Tomac clarified how the Austrian government intends to block the passage of migrants during the official presentation held a few hours ago: «It is a normal net and not a barbed wire. It will be set up only if necessary in the event of a massive arrival of migrants". The supporting structure will be built shortly, while the net will be used only in case of need. Asylum seekers will be identified immediately at the border and taken to reception centres, while refugees will be sent back to the sender (Italy) which will have to take care of their assistance on its own.
The fence? It will be able to be set up in a short time", explained Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka, underlining that the real checks "will begin from June".
However, it should be emphasized that in 2016 Vienna established a maximum limit of asylum seekers. More than 37.500 people will not be able to enter Austria, with the exception of refugees who have residents in Austria or who risk torture and inhumane treatment.
Going into detail, the measures illustrated today provide for four lanes for visual checks: "A speed limit of 30 km/h will be introduced for safety reasons," explained Helmut Tomac. "Suspicious vehicles will be diverted to a special control area, thus reducing traffic delays as much as possible". The same type of measures will also be taken on the road where car traffic will be directed to a single lane. Also planned is the restoration of an old Fontiera checkpoint at the roundabout where the "old mushroom" stands, as the people of Brenna call it. It is the low building that once, before Schengen, housed the border post. Also established forced stops of trains in Steinach, immediately after the border In order to check passengers.
After the presentation of a barrier that de facto puts an end to Schengen, the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi intervened on the matter, accusing Austria of not respecting the Community diktats: "The hypothesis of closing the Brenner Pass is blatantly against European rules, as well as against history, against logic and against the future”. This is the Premier's comment in his Enews. "Italy is actively collaborating in many demanding theatres, starting with the Mosul dam up to Afghanistan - continued Renzi - The migration issue is, as always, very complicated but the exaggerated announcements of recent days need to be recalibrated: in the first four months of the year the number of migrants arriving in Italy is lower than that of 2014 and substantially equal to that of 2015. It is a demanding effort for our country, which continues to try to save human lives at sea, but with numbers that are lower than those reported by international alerts”.
